In 1879, French polymath Gustave Le Bon wrote that even in “the most intelligent races” there “are a large number of women whose brains are closer in size to those of gorillas than to the most developed male brains”. He continued his insult with: “This inferiority is so obvious that no one can contest it for a moment; only its degree is worth discussion.” Today we have moved on, right? But whenever we attempt to explain the under-representation of women in science, debunked myths seem to sneak back into the debate in different guises – no matter how often they are challenged.…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Senate on Wednesday at plenary directed its Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to investigate complaints of Nigerians on illicit and excessive bank charges by commercial banks on customers’ accounts. It also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to look into the complaints of Nigerians and review the charges on their bank accounts. The resolutions of Senate, were sequel to a motion by Sen. Abba Moro (PDP-Benue South) on urgent need to investigate and review illicit and excessive charges by Nigerian banks on customers’ accounts. Moro, while presenting the motion, said there have been several complaints…
Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, the Managing Director , Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) says the organisation is working toward establishing a special economic zone for solid minerals. Adesugba made this known when officials of the Nigeria Chamber of Mines paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja. According to him, the initiative is part of Federal Government’s poise to revamp the mining sector to enable it contribute more to national income. He said that plans were underway for the establishment of four special economic zones in Lagos, Gombe, Kwara and Kastina with special consideration for solid minerals. “These special economic zones…
The Police Service Commission, PSC, says it will sanction deviant personnel of the Nigerian Police Force found wanting in the wanton abuse of office. This followed the recent public outcry on the abuse of office by personnel of both the Federal and State Anti Robbery Squads, FSARS, and other special Units attached to the office of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and the seeming lack or absence of supervision by relevant supervisory authorities. A statement by the Spokesperson of the Commission, Mr Ikechukwu Ani made available to ASHENEWSONLINE on Wednesday, said “the Commission has also noted recent efforts by…
The Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved the award of contracts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri eastern narrow gauge railway, with new branch lines and trans-shipment facilities. The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, made this known when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the 18th virtual meeting of FEC. The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday. The minister also revealed that the Council approved the construction of a new deep seaport in Bonny, under Private-Public- Partnership (PPP) programme and…
Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai has approved the appointment of Alhaji Ahmed Bamali as the 19th Emir of Zazzau. This is contained in a statement by the State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Ja’afaru Sani titled: ‘KDSG appoints Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli as Emir of Zazzau’ on Wednesday. “Following the death of His Highness, Alhaji (Dr) Shehu Idris, the late 18th Emir of Zazzaus, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has approved the appointment of Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamali as the 19th Emir of Zazzau. “Bamalli is the first emir from the Mallawa ruling house in 100 years, following the…
The Sokoto State Executive Council, EXCO, has directed all civil servants, including academic and non academic workers, to resume work on Thursday. This was part of the resolutions of the council, during its meeting, held on Tuesday and chaired by governor Aminu Tambuwal. ASHENEWSONLINE recalls that Tambuwal last Monday, directed the re-opening of schools after about six months of closure due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The directive by the State Executive Council for the civil servants, teachers and other workers in schools to resume four days before the students begin their gradual resumptions, a statement by the Spokesperson…
The US-Based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute, ICSID, headed by Prof William Park, has ordered InterOcean to pay the Federal government of Nigeria USD $660,129.87, as reimbursement of its share of the arbitration costs incurred in the proceedings. This is contained in a statement by the spokesperson of the Minister of Justice Dr Umar Gwandu, made available to ASHENEWSONLINE on Wednesday. According to the statement, the tribunal also absolved Nigeria of any liability, further maintaining that Nigeria did not breach any of its obligations in the contract agreement with InterOcean Development Company and InterOcean Oil Exploration Company. The…
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) have agreed to set up a joint committee to boost local content development. NCDMB made the announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday by its Corporate Communications Department on its official Twitter account. The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote and the Director General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Abdullahi, were quoted as saying that the decision to set up the committee was reached after a meeting they held via Zoom platform on Tuesday. The six-member committee will foster the agencies collaboration in the…
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has successfully treated and discharged 357 patients, who have recovered from the Coronavirus (COVID-19), reporting 118 fresh infections in the country. A report in its official twitter handle on Tuesday, indicated that 357 patients were discharged in the past 24 hours, raising the number of recoveries to 51,308. No COVID-19 death was recorded for the third consecutive day, leaving the death toll at 1,113, a figure first recorded since October 3. The public health agency said that the new infections were recorded in 14 states across the country. It stated that Lagos recorded the highest…